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Friday, January 31, 2014

Greetings! So last night I redid my nails with a "textured matte polish". This is OPI Liquid Sand - Solitaire. I was a little unsure about whether or not I would like this polish, but I actually love it! Part of the reason is that it reminds me of the polish I used on my wedding day! Memories!!! *sigh* :)

I haven't mentioned the picking in the last few posts so I thought I should touch base on that a bit. I actually think I've been really, really good lately. Painting my nails and photographing them, working hard to grow them out and make them actually look good... it's been a pretty great motivator to leave my hands alone. And I've also been working hard to keep my hands nice and moisturized, and my cuticles nice and clean - that definitely helps keep me on track! That said, my hands aren't the only things I struggle with and I certainly haven't been perfect. Today in particular, for example, my lips are a little chapped so I keep on picking at them. Overall though, I do feel like I've been good! And that's what it's all about - progress! :)

So following up from my last post... as I continue in my photography journey I think I decided on "with flash". I did end up showing my hubs the last set of pics and he agreed. For this polish though, I wanted to do both because I think you can see the texture differently. First three are with flash, last two are no flash. Enjoy!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Since I'm not very original, I like to copy things I see online! And because I follow a bunch of people and their nail boards on Pinterest, and I have a ton of things pinned on my own nail board, I have literally hundreds of things for inspiration. Somehow though I always end up with a case of "what have you done for me lately?" and I want to copy the most recent thing I've seen. Earlier this week these lovely ladies caught my eye, so I thought I'd take a stab at it. This is China Glaze Diva Bride (with OPI Black Onyx and OPI DS Radiance). I had to do three coats of Diva Bride because it's pretty sheer, but I think it turned out well! Granted, after my first attempt with the dots and hearts I had to redo the ring finger and pointer finger, but practice makes perfect. (Plus it could be a little bit of my OCD kickin' it - has to be juuust right, ya know?!) I went ahead and tried out some of Sarah's tips for lighting and photography that I mentioned in my previous post, so today I'm going a little overboard with the photos! I posed my hands on our upholstered linen chest in front of the window. I think my left hand is wonky though, or my middle finger is like extra long or something because I have a hard time getting my hands to look elegant! Like, it's hard to get all my nails lined up evenly. Hard to explain, but I think if you look at these compared to the pics from the real nail bloggers out there you would know what I mean. Hand positioning aside, I am pleased with myself and the quality of these photos! As you can see, the pics are essentially the same but everything on the left is no flash, everything on the right is with flash. Sarah suggested no flash, but I kinda feel like the ones with flash look better. I don't know... if I had readers I would take a poll but since I'm just talking to myself maybe I'll ask my husband what he thinks. :)

Oh yeh, and I didn't get a chance to post this one, but I figured I'd just put up the pics of the mani I did last weekend. This was Revlon Red and Orly Too Fab. Amazing what a difference camera and lighting make!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

That's not true actually! To tell you the truth, I'm feeling pretty good because due to the fact that much of the US is facing record low temps, I don't have to go to work tomorrow! Yaaay!!! In honor of the wintery weather, I thought I'd do a blue polish! This is OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue!, and I decided to put a teardrop rhinestone by the cuticle of each nail. Generally I'm pretty pleased, but I definitely need to perfect the cuticle cleanup method! I also need to work on my photos!! I know this blog is just my diary - no one is looking at it but me - but I still want the photos to look good. I did find a nice post by Sarah from Chalkboard Nails that covers some nail photography tips, especially lighting. She uses natural lighting which would be a challenge for me since I always paint my nails at night, but I'm going to try to take as much from it as I can. That's about it for today; my last "diary entry" was epic and I don't want to get in that habit. So with that, here's the pix!

I used Orly Bubbly Bombshell (over top of OPI Black Onyx) because I liked it and I've never seen the Nails Inc. brand in Ulta or Sally Beauty which are the main places I get my beauty supplies. My version is not great, and my right hand doesn't really "match" my left hand (my right hand has more glitter overall than the left hand), but this was my first attempt at a glitter gradient and I'm generally pleased. I'll definitely try it again, although next time I might try a different technique for doing the gradient. I read about a lot of methods online and watched some youtube videos, and decided on this one where you sort of just dab the glitter off a mostly dry brush, then spread it down. Next time I might try the makeup sponge technique and/or also use more than one glitter polish (a fine glitter like this in addition to a glitter with bigger pieces in it like the Nails Inc. one Claudia and Cristina used). I also need to buy some Gelous, which I just read about today, and as soon as I finish the top coat I'm currently using I'm going to get some Seche Vite which is apparently "the best".

So that covers the polish, on to the picking. *sigh*

I used to get "lost in the mirror" picking at my face for long periods of time, but last night I sort of got lost on the internet. I know that happens to everyone, but I was definitely up way later than I planned on being, and way later than I should have been on a work night. Anyhow, I found an interesting blog by a 17 year old girl named Emma who seems very troubled, but takes great ownership of her disorder; she also seems so proactive in trying to increase the general public's awareness of Dermatillomania, Trichotillomania, and other body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB's). It is quite impressive, to me at least, that someone so young can be so open with their problems. I have never even discussed my depression or skin picking with any friends or family other than my husband. I am a very guarded and private person and I don't share many "real" things with people. I don't know why, it's just the way I am. That's why you'll never see a picture of me here on this blog - just my hands! :) Check out what Emma has going on here.

Her blog took me to The Derma Project.

I watched two chapters and found them to be very interesting and comforting. I've known for a long time now that I am not alone in this disease or disorder or whatever you call it, but at the same time I feel alone. I really don't think my husband gets it, and he's the only one I talk to about it at all. Even if it doesn't offer any help towards getting better, it is nice to know that I am part of some community of people dealing with the same problem.

The Derma Project got me reading about Angela Hartlin. Apparently she is an advocate in the mental health field and spreads awareness and information about BFRB. She has what seems to be a thorough website and a documentary called Scars of Shame that I wouldn't mind checking out.

Like a mini-internet within the internet, those videos got me lost in youtube land. I watched several others videos, mostly just people talking about their own personal experiences with skin picking and BFRB's. I particularly like this one below, especially the song by Sixx:A.M.

So, I guess in summary, my whole point is that it's nice to know their are other people out there trying to get better too.

P.S. - Sorry for the crazy long, crazy rambling blog. I'm no professional writer, just using this as a place to get it all out.

Oh, P.S.S. - Sorry about another hot pink polish. I'm really starting to look pretty boring here, but I guess I just like what I like. I do have lots of others though, and I'll show 'em off soon!

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About Me

My profile picture is of me on the happiest day of my life - the day I got married to my wonderful husband.
I was pretty proud of how beautiful I looked that day, my hands included! You see, my hands haven't always looked too good (and even these days there are times when they don't) because I am a compulsive skin picker. But I am getting better, and my adventures and obsessions with polish are helping me along! :)